City report · Ghana
Tamale Air quality today
Air quality in Tamale currently reads AQI 68 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 68
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 18.1
- tree cover
- 14.6%
- trees in this area
- 45.9K
- more trees needed
- 48.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tamale, Ghana (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 29, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tamale · AQI 68 (Moderate)
Tamale's tree count comes to 45,867 trees across 12.57 km², 15 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 48,381 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tamale today: AQI 68, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 15:55 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Tamale Central High Street, 400 m away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
18.1
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · Clarity, Ghana AQ
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tamale's daily AQI at 65 on average, from 60 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 7.
Where Tamale stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tamale: Critically low
14.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
45,867
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
48,381
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,064 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tamale lost?
There was almost no forest around Tamale in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 226 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 290 ha
- Overall change
- +64 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tamale grew from about 226 hectares to 290 hectares, a net gain of about 64 hectares (+28%). New forest grew on about 75 hectares, while 10 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Tamale
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Sokodé221.4 km
Togo
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 56
- Kara222.8 km
Togo
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 57
- Bondoukou263.3 km
Ivory Coast
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 47
- Djougou276.8 km
Benin
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 70
- Atakpamé300.3 km
Togo
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 51
Also compared:Tamale vs AccraTamale vs Takoradi
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Frequently asked
Questions about Tamale
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tamale right now?
The latest reading for Tamale shows an AQI of 68 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 15:55 local time by the Tamale Central High Street ground monitoring station, 400 m away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tamale today?
At AQI 68 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Tamale been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tamale's daily AQI at 65 on average, from 60 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Tamale lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Tamale in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tamale grew from about 226 hectares to 290 hectares, a net gain of about 64 hectares (+28%). New forest grew on about 75 hectares, while 10 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Tamale?
Tamale has an estimated 45,867 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 14.6% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tamale need?
Tamale needs roughly 48,381 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,064 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Tamale's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Tamale, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Tamale; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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